Chapter Fourteen – Misfits

"She's beautiful."

Jules stood in the docking port, gazing up at the hull of the ship as it glimmered silver-blue in the sunlight. It was identical in every way to the Armali and the other two of Tevos' flagships that would be entering the Athena Nebula but for some reason Jules found herself appreciating it more than the others.

The hull was smooth and rounded and seemed to reflect the sunlight, bathing the landing pad in a dazzling rainbow of colours. It wasn't a large ship but it was bigger than the Normandy had been and it seemed to have been built for aesthetics as much as for practicality.

"What did you say it was called?" she looked to her left where Tevos stood beside her. A gentle breeze brushed past them, rippling the fabric of the matriarch's dress as she clasped her hands behind her back.

"The Janiri."

"The asari goddess of seasons and storms," Jules observed with a slight quirk of her brow. She knew it was also one of the planets in the Parnitha System and a city on Thessia. It had also been the name of one of Liara's cuddly toys when she was a child but that was probably less relevant. When Jules had first found that out she remembered thinking how typical it was for Liara to have named her toys after characters from asari mythology rather than 'Cuddles' or 'Fluffy' like most children would.

In contrast, Jules' favourite toy had been an old, worn teddy bear which she had imaginatively named: Ted. He was one of the many things she had lost when Mindoir was attacked.

"She's yours if you want her," Tevos said calmly as she gazed up the sparkling hull. The comment didn't make immediate sense to Jules and she found herself frowning oddly.

"What?"

"The ship," Tevos reiterated, "it can be yours if you'd like."

Jules blinked, "Seriously?"

Tevos nodded, "Grunt commands the Armali, I will be commanding the Athame, Aria the Tevura-"

"You're giving Aria her own ship?" Jules cut in but Tevos ignored her as she continued.

"The Janiri was supposed to be commanded by Adarna. Since that will no longer be possible, I'm offering it to you."

For a moment Jules said nothing.

It had been little more than a week since she and Liara had signed the contracts that made them formally part of the project and it had been a week filled with endless meetings and discussions as Tevos and her staff mapped out the details of the expedition.

From what Jules had been able to gather, it was basically a scout mission. The four ships were unarmed but equipped with stealth technology that would allow them to remain undetected when they entered asari space. After passing through the mass relay, the four ships would split up and between them they would cover all five of the star systems in the Athena Nebula, surveying planets and going on recon missions to gather as much data as possible.

The ultimate goal was to get a picture of the political situation out there, who all the factions were, who held the most power and where they were based. Only then would they be able to form a plan to retake Thessia – assuming it would even be possible.

While they would remain in contact, each ship would essentially be operating alone.

"You're giving me my own command?" Jules asked sceptically, "Just like that?" perhaps it was just her being paranoid but she always felt like she might be walking into a trap when Tevos started offering her things.

"Unless you can think of anyone better," Tevos agreed, there was a cold edge to her voice as she said it, like Jules' mistrust was starting to irritate her. That, in turn, irritated Jules, it wasn't like she didn't have good reason to be suspicious.

Still, the thought of having a ship of her own again did hold an appeal and it would be better than having to take orders from one of the others. She folded her arms and moved away, wandering slowly around the perimeter of the landing pad to examine the ship from all angles. Tevos followed, watching her closely.

As she moved, the light danced off the surface of the hull, occasionally blinding her or bathing her in a multi-coloured spotlight. The Janiri, she mulled the name over in her mind; it was prettier than the Normandy but not as dramatic… and it didn't have any guns. Maybe that was something she could rectify once they got into asari space.

"What about a crew?" she asked Tevos as she led the asari slowly in a full circle.

"We've still yet to decide who will be assigned to which ship. However, you will have the chance to work and train with all potential crew members. You, Grunt, Aria and I will have to fight over who we want."

Jules raised her eyebrows, "With the four of us in one room that could end up being literal. I heard you already went a few rounds with Aria."

She threw Tevos a smile but the asari didn't rise to the jibe, "The majority of your crew will be there to conduct planetary surveys and collect data," she explained coolly, "but you will also have a fully trained squad at your disposal for ground missions. Knowing the way you attract trouble I'm sure you'll make use of them."

"The way I attract trouble," Jules stopped walking and turned to find Tevos looking at her expectantly, as though challenging her to argue, "I don't ask to have lunatics chasing me all the time you know."

"And yet they always seem to find you."

"Hmph," Jules grumbled softly, "must be my magnetic personality."

Tevos regarded her calmly as her attention fell back to the ship. The matriarch waited a moment but when Jules didn't speak she pressed her question again, "Will you accept, Shepard? I can think of no one better to command the Janiri than you."

"Yeah right," Jules muttered, "what you really mean is that there's no one else on the project who can command a ship."

"There's certainly no one who could compare to you."

"And you can stop trying to butter me up with compliments, I'm too old for it," Jules sighed heavily, chewing on the corner of her mouth as she gazed up at the iridescent hull, sparkling and shimmering in the warmth of the day. It really was beautiful.

She already knew she had no choice but to say yes, but a sting of pride stopped her from jumping at Tevos' offer right away.

"I have two conditions," she stated prompting Tevos to nod once, she had clearly been expecting as much, "firstly," she raised a finger to emphasise, "Liara stays with me, no one else gets to have her on their crew."

"Naturally," Tevos agreed with a tilt of her head, "and secondly?"

Jules took a step closer, finger still raised until she was pointing directly into Tevos' face, "No one – and I mean no one – calls me 'Commander', understood?"

Tevos' lips quirked briefly into a rare but genuine smile, then it vanished again in an instant and she merely nodded, "I'll make sure to put out a memo so that everyone is informed."

"Best make it two," Jules said coldly, "just in case they miss the first one."

The fell into silence as they stood there and Jules took the opportunity to appreciate the fresh air on her skin and the warmth of the midday sun. After spending so much time on the Normandy, she had almost forgotten the joy of real air; suddenly the thought of getting back onto a ship again wasn't all that appealing. At least it would be her ship.

"May I ask you something?" Tevos said softly after a while and Jules supressed an irritable sigh.

"I don't know. Was that in the contract I signed? Shepard must answer all questions that Tevos asks her?"

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to. There's just something I'm curious about."

"Oh everybody's curious about me," Jules agreed grimly, "I can't walk through the headquarters without someone asking me what it was like fighting the reapers or how did I defeat Saren or is it true that Matriarch Benezia was actually the rachni queen? – I'd love to know how the hell that story got started," Jules looked over to see Tevos had fallen silent and her face remained impassive as she stared up at the Janiri. It was clear she had no intention of pressing any further after the outburst and Jules found that actually annoyed her more. After a moment she rolled her eyes, "go on then, what nugget of my life are you interested in?"

"I was just wondering why you don't like being called Commander," Tevos said calmly.

"Because I'm not one anymore."

"But you will be if you take command of the Janiri. And I have a feeling there's more to it than that."

Jules didn't answer at once, instead glaring at Tevos reproachfully. She hated it when people were that perceptive about her feelings. People who weren't Liara, anyway.

"The title doesn't belong to me," she said after a minute, "Commander Shepard is some great hero who saved us all from the reapers. Or a reckless moron who destroyed the mass relays and doomed us all. Or a mythical character from legends. Or a total fantasy from an elaborate conspiracy. There are a lot of things people think of when they say 'Commander Shepard' but none of them are me. The part of me that was Commander Shepard is gone now, she died with the reapers."

Tevos looked at her thoughtfully and for a moment Jules was afraid they were about to get into a deep conversation about it, but then she simply nodded and said: "We should get back, I have a meeting with your lawyer in an hour, it seems the Reaper War Museum are trying to bring a case against you for stealing the Normandy from them a century ago."

Jules stared at her in surprise, "You're kidding?" she hadn't even been aware that she had a lawyer.

"I wouldn't worry," Tevos shrugged indifferently, "I'm confident we can get it sorted before it ever goes to court. The Truthseekers are also trying to sue you for claiming the Reaper War ever took place but don't worry about that either, they try to take similar action against me at least twice a year."

Jules blinked, "Any other legal disputes I should know about?"

"Nothing unexpected. There are plenty of people trying to prove you aren't the real Shepard, others are claiming to be related to you or seeking justice for some wrong you did to their family centuries ago. I doubt you'll need to get personally involved in any of them."

"And you're handling all of this for me?" Jules asked, waiting for some kind of catch, but Tevos simply shrugged.

"You signed the contract, you're one of my staff. You're problems are now my problems," Jules couldn't decide whether that was reassuring or simply a little unnerving. She wondered if there would be a future price for all this help that she hadn't been made aware of yet.

She tried not to worry about it. Liara had gone through both their contracts with a fine tooth comb and had fiercely negotiated with Tevos on several points until she was finally satisfied that there were no hidden clauses or loopholes that they could fall foul of. Still, she couldn't help being uneasy.

"Besides," Tevos continued, "I doubt you'll have the time to handle court cases. Word has gone round that you're looking to hone your combat skills, apparently you have no shortage of people willing to be your sparring partner. I hear they're even drawing up a league table."

"Really?" Jules smiled slightly as she and Tevos began walking towards the exit.

"Aria and Grunt are gathering all the squad members together in the training hall today, they want to see them all in action, you should join them. Aria is taking bets, of course, apparently she has three-to-one odds that you won't make it through five matches without collapsing from exhaustion."

Jules sucked on her teeth, "Does she now?" as she said it she felt a smile touch her lips and a strange rush of anticipation run through her. It had been a long time since she'd had the thrill of a challenge.

…

Barbet stood straight and tall with his hands clasped behind his back as he tried to ignore how conspicuous he felt. It wasn't that he was the only batarian on Tevos' project, or that he was taller than everyone else in the room, or that he carried fifty years' worth of battle scars on his face and was missing his lower left eye. All of this he was used to and had stopped thinking about years ago.

However, while standing silently in a line with twenty of Tevos' best soldiers, being closely scrutinised by Aria T'Loak and the young but famous krogan who had once served with Commander Shepard, it was hard not to be a little self-conscious.

He tried to put it out of his mind, the way Aria and Grunt were muttering inaudibly to each other, the way Aria's eyes narrowed critically at each of them in turn and particularly the way Grunt chuckled now and then at some comment she made to him.

It was humiliating being sized up like prize animals, there was no doubt about that. But Barbet had been a soldier for five decades, he had seen enough not to be intimidated by a bit of scrutiny.

The same couldn't be said for everyone in the line. Barbet was particularly aware of a young turian at the far end who was constantly shifting his weight from foot-to-foot and seemed to be concentrating on trying not to fidget. There were others who were simply becoming bored, they had been standing there for well over ten minutes and neither Grunt nor Aria had actually addressed them yet as they continued their whisperings from a distance.

Barbet himself was just beginning to wonder how long it would be before something happened when he heard a long, loud sigh beside him and had to hide a smile as he glanced sideways.

Next to him stood Kyla, a – currently – very bored looking asari. She was short – even considering how tall he was – and though she also had her hands clasped behind her back, her shoulders were slumped and she was rocking casually back and forth on the balls of her feet, blowing the air out from her cheeks as they waited.

"What the hell is taking so long?" she demanded after a moment, "Are they waiting for us to do a dance or something? Or is it some kind of endurance test to see which one of us dies from boredom first?"

"Patience, kid," Barbet said calmly, moving his mouth as little as possible as Grunt's eyes passed over him.

"Kid?" Kyla scoffed, apparently not as concerned about being caught talking, "I've got five hundred years on you, old man."

Though true, this was sometimes easy to forget. He and Kyla had been working together on the project for several years now and despite being over five centuries old, Kyla often had the temperament of an adolescent.

She was stocky for an asari but packed with muscle and still quick enough to be able to runs rings around most of her opponents. Like many asari she had sharp, defined features and a hard brow that made her seem as though she were always scowling. Her skin was a deep, sapphire blue and her face was totally void of any facial markings but her dark, plum coloured eyes were enough to make her seem striking despite that.

"I swear Aria's eyeing me up," she muttered absently, Barbet turned to see she was giving the other asari a disdainful glare, "That's the fourth time she's looked at me, and it's not my face she's interested in."

"She's probably trying to work out how fit you are," Barbet said, then sighed inwardly as he realised exactly how Kyla would interpret that. He heard her snort.

"I bet she is."

Barbet supressed a smile. Most asari of Kyla's age – born long before the reapers or the war – were graceful and demure, patient and calm. Kyla was all hard edges and brash comments and if she did take the time to think before she spoke it was only to consider how outrageous or inappropriate she could be.

"I know this may be hard for you to accept," he told her softly, "but not everyone who meets you wants to get you into bed with them."

"You sure about that?" Aria's eyes lingered on her again and this time Kyla responded with a tight and obviously exaggerated smile before she raised her hand and waggled her fingers in a mocking wave.

Barbet felt every muscle in his body tense as Aria froze, then tilted her head and narrowed her cold, lilac eyes until they became as sharp as knives and Barbet felt a chill run through him. For a moment he thought she was going to come over and Kyla would end up in hot water – not for the first time – but then she merely smiled to herself and turned away to point out another of the line to Grunt.

Barbet exhaled softly as Kyla merely smirked, apparently completely unconcerned that one of the most dangerous woman in the galaxy may have just singled her out.

"Bitch," she muttered, loudly enough to make Barbet uncomfortable but Aria didn't seem to have heard, "I wouldn't let her touch me if she was the last asari alive."

"Just watch it, kid," Barbet warned her, "she's not someone you want to be picking a fight with."

"She doesn't scare me."

"Well maybe she should. She is Aria T'Loak after all."

"Ha!" Kyla scoffed, "You think being Queen of Omega made her tough? While she was lounging on that sofa with half-dressed lap-dancers draped all over her and personal bodyguards to pour her wine, some of us were out on the streets where the real action happened."

Barbet said nothing. From the little that he had managed to learn of Kyla's past – mostly through throw away comments like that one – he gathered that she had lived a twisted and complicated life, mixing mostly with mercs and criminals. Many of the other asari in the line had been commandoes before the war but they fought with a level of discipline that Kyla certainly didn't have and he had a feeling most of her skills were self-taught.

The doors to the hall opened and the bored line of soldiers suddenly all seemed to straighten up a little, as though they were anticipating the arrival of someone interesting. There were several sharp intakes of breath when Shepard walked in with Liara following close behind.

Even Barbet felt his heart quicken at the sight of them and was briefly amused at himself, it seemed stupid for an old veteran like him to get star-struck over a pair of war heroes. Still, there was something breathtaking about seeing them for real, rather than just as pictures in a history book.

He had spotted Shepard once or twice around the headquarters already but only ever from a distance. She had looked ill back then and exhausted, but now there was a quick determination in her stride and her eyes were bright as they darted along the line before she came to stand beside Aria and Grunt and joined their conversation.

Her hair was shorter than before, he noted and hung a little way past her shoulders in loose, vibrant red waves. It still seemed impractically long, making him wonder why she had bothered cutting it at all.

He had seen Liara only once before today, during the coup when she had briefly aided his squad before disappearing before he could thank her. Now she was standing quietly, watching the soldiers with interest as she let Shepard and the others talk.

Beside Barbet there was a low whistle, "Didn't realise our celebrity sponsors were going to be joining us," Kyla muttered sarcastically but as he glanced at her he saw she was looking genuinely pleased, though her smirk suggested she was plotting something.

"Makes sense," Barbet shrugged, "rumour has it that Tevos has given her command of the Janiri."

Kyla's head snapped round, her cocky smile wiped away by an unusually serious frown, "You're kidding? You mean… we could end up on her crew?"

Barbet smiled, amused by the idea that Kyla might actually care about getting the chance to work with a legend, "You'd have to impress her first."

For a moment she looked thoughtful, then she blinked and became her usual blasé self again, snorting dismissively, "Shouldn't be difficult, not like I've got much competition, eh?"

…

Jules played with a loose lock of her hair, enjoying that it was light enough to settle into natural waves again. When Liara had seen it, Jules had watched her supress a triumphant smile, as she always did when she got her own way. Luckily Jules liked seeing Liara get her own way.

She scrutinised the line of soldiers standing before her, a line that she would have to pick a squad from. Most of them were asari, except for two turians and a batarian, which she found interesting. She hadn't seen many batarians since returning to Earth and she was sure there weren't a lot of them in the Traverse.

If the asari had thought they had things bad after the war, it was nothing compared to what the batarians had suffered. Their home world had been the first to fall to the reapers, couple that with the destruction of the Bahak System and their population had decreased rapidly. Most of the surviving refugees had fled to the Citadel, and then been killed when the reapers had taken it.

The few batarians who had survived the war had mostly been mercenaries in the Terminus and for a while they had seriously faced the prospect of extinction. Unlike the asari they had reclaimed their home world but not successfully, instead they had split into several factions who had fought bitter wars over the most arable land and eventually wiped each other out. It was fair to say they still had nowhere to call home.

But this one didn't look like a mercenary or a criminal. He was lean and lanky, with legs that almost looked too long for him and his face was a tapestry of scars, one of which cut through his lower left eye, leaving him with only three. From his stance, Jules guessed he was a soldier.

Beside him a short, striking asari was muttering something to him as a sly smirk graced her lips. Jules didn't recognise her but she did briefly remind her of someone. She couldn't place who.

But out of all of them, it was Egret who drew most of her attention. The young asari was standing silently in line, her eyes staring straight ahead. When they had first met on board the Armali, Jules hadn't really questioned what Egret's role on the project was, though she supposed that she had assumed it would be behind a desk analysing data or something. After seeing her in action in the warehouse, she wasn't surprised to see her lined up as a potential squad member but she did find it odd. She was, after all, very young for an asari but she had clearly had a lot of training from someone.

"So," Aria's soft voice broke her thoughts, "since you're here, I take it that you've accepted command of the Janiri? Good."

Jules looked at her in surprise, "Good?"

"Mm," she nodded "I was worried Tevos might bring someone new in to replace Adarna, like a new investor. She doesn't like relying on Urdnot Wrex for funding, she knows he's only doing it for you. If you told him to stop giving her money he would. I didn't think she'd want to risk giving you any more power. I'm glad I was wrong."

"Have you spoken to Wrex again since he agreed to help?" Grunt asked, on the surface he sounded as casual as he always did but there was a hint of hopefulness in his voice that Jules felt sorry to crush.

"No," she replied, since that first call Wrex had apparently become very busy and all her subsequent contact with Tuchanka had been done through Bakara. She couldn't help but wonder if this was punishment for her leaving for so long, though that didn't really seem like Wrex's style.

"Did he ask about me, when you spoke to him?" Grunt asked.

Jules winced, "No."

"Hmph," the krogan sighed, "still hasn't forgiven me for leaving then."

"I don't think you're the problem, Grunt," Jules consoled him with an apologetic smile, "he's stressing over his kids."

"Ah," Grunt nodded sagely, "is it Mordin?"

"How did you know?"

"It's always Mordin."

Jules smiled. Bakara had been as tight-lipped as Wrex when talking about their eldest son, but Jules had been able to tell that he had done something to upset his father. It didn't surprise her, Mordin had always been opinionated. She just hoped the young krogan knew what he was doing.

"So what do you think, Shepard?" Aria asked, bringing Jules' attention back to the line of soldiers she was supposed to be looking at. She recognised the bored, restless expressions of people forced to stand still for too long smiled guiltily to herself as she counted them.

"Twenty," she stated, "split between us and Tevos that makes five each?"

"Not necessarily," Grunt said, "your squad can have as many or as few members as you want, and they might not all get chosen. There might be some of them that none of us want on our crew," he said the last bit loud enough for them to hear him and then chuckled softly as he looked over to see their reaction. Most of them didn't flicker, except for a particularly nervous looking turian at the end of the line who glanced at Grunt feverishly before quickly averting his gaze.

"What have they gone through to get to this point?" Liara asked, "How much training have they had?"

"Well," Aria shrugged, "there were over a thousand applicants in the beginning, that should give you some idea."

"They've spent over three years training for this," Grunt agreed, "they're the best."

Aria snorted, "I don't know about that, but they're the best that we could get our hands on. This isn't exactly the dream assignment for a professional fighter. The people who applied were either bored, desperate or just really wanted to see home again," which explained why most of them were asari, Jules reasoned, "A lot of them used to be commandoes though, so that's something."

"Commandoes?" Jules found herself grinning as she turned towards Liara, "I've always wanted a squad of asari commandoes."

"They're not a litter of puppies, Shepard," Aria muttered with a roll of her eyes, making Jules chuckle.

"Alright," she nodded, "let's see them in action, there's no better way to get to know a squad than to go a few rounds against them."

"Really?" Aria asked with mock surprise, "Are you sure you're ready for that? Let's face it, you're not exactly at you best these days."

Jules folded her arms and responded with a sarcastic smile.

"Just get them ready."

…

Liara had been given strict instructions by Rhys not to exert herself while her wounds were still healing, which forced her to sit out of the training. She couldn't pretend to be too disappointed, sparring sessions weren't really her thing anyway.

So, as Jules and the others moved away, she settled herself on a bench and watched. The hall was big enough for them to set up three make-shift rings; one for Jules, one for Aria and one for Grunt. Then they set about choosing who they wanted to put through their paces; Aria was the quickest to decide, singling out the nervous-looking turian and earning a disapproving look from Jules as she grabbed the terrified boy by the shoulder and dragged him across the room.

Grunt picked out one of the asari while Jules chose the batarian, who Liara recognised as the man she had seen during the coup when she had helped his squad in the corridor.

The rest of the soldiers moved to the side, many of them were whispering and nudging each other and a few of them kept throwing glances in Liara's direction, which she ignored. As the fighting began, her eyes were on Jules.

She wasn't worried… not exactly. But she did know that Jules was out of practice, and the batarian looked like a veteran. But it quickly became apparent that Jules was enjoying herself as she dodged two blows then aimed one and missed. They danced around each other for several minutes, talking breathlessly between blows and though Liara couldn't hear what they were saying, she did notice a lot of laughter.

Her attention was drawn from them suddenly by a biotic explosion which shook the room slightly and sent ripples of biotic energy through the air, prickling lightly against Liara's skin. She looked over to see Aria was on the floor and – surprisingly – it was the young turian who was lit up with blue-white energy.

"HA!" Aria yelled in delight as she jumped swiftly back to her feet, "That's more like it! Let's see what else you've got kid!" the turian – still looking nervous – glanced feverishly about the room as he realised he now had everyone's eyes on him. Liara watched curiously as he strengthened his barrier and prepared to launch another attack.

She wondered vaguely how a turian became a biotic these days, if there really was an eezo shortage it must have been rarer for people to be accidently exposed to it and it seemed unlikely anyone would be deliberately manufacturing biotics. Though she supposed anything was possible.

He ultimately lost his fight. But as Aria hauled him back to his feet she had a sly smile on her face and said something about there being hope for him yet.

Jules defeated the batarian – more through cunning than strength – and one of the younger asari – who had seemed so in awe of her she honestly hadn't put up much of a fight.

"Egret!" she shouted next, looking over at the young asari who had yet to fight anyone, "Let's see what you've got!"

She practically jumped off the bench she had been sitting on and sprinted over to join her. Jules was grinning as Egret reached her, which was something Liara hadn't seen much of lately. The match started off slow, with Egret seeming unwilling to put up much of a fight, whether that was because of nerves or fear of actually hurting Shepard, Liara couldn't tell.

Jules had always had a talent for putting people at ease, however, and before long the pair of them were clearly having fun. Egret's biotics were powerful but raw, she had obviously had some training but her skills were still unrefined. She let her barrier weaken whenever she launched an attack and got easily flustered if Jules got too close to her, preferring to fight at long range.

These were flaws Jules could easily exploit and Egret was soon defeated too, though Liara noted that Jules had drawn the fight out far longer than needed as she assessed Egret's skills as much as possible.

"Three down, Shepard," Aria called from across the room as Egret jogged back to the bench, "I still say you won't make it past five!"

Jules proved her wrong as she defeated another two asari and then took on the other turian. He wasn't a biotic like the younger one but he managed to put up more of a fight than any of them so far. His movements were so fast and agile Jules could barely keep up but, like Egret, he lacked finesse and eventually a few clumsy mistakes were all it took for Jules to gain the upper hand.

In her seventh opponent, however, Jules finally met her match. She was one of the older asari in the group and from the look of her Liara guessed she was well into her matriarch years. There was a calm and meticulous method to her fighting that spoke of commando training and centuries of experience and though Jules put up a good fight she eventually had to admit defeat after being thrown to the floor for the eighth time.

She came back over to Liara, gingerly massaging one of her shoulders but grinning all the same, "Enjoying the show?" she asked as she sat down next to her, breathing heavily and wiping the sweat from her brow. Liara noticed more than a few bruises forming on her arms and around her shoulders but she recognised the same exhilaration in her eyes that Jules used to get after a mission. She looked alert and seemed unable to sit still as she tapped her feet impatiently.

"They're certainly an eclectic group of fighters," Liara observed, turning back to the room. From what she had seen so far there was everything from fully trained soldiers to people who may well have been street fighters.

"You mean they're a bunch of misfits?" Jules said with a smile.

"Like every other squad you've ever had," Liara agreed.

Jules made a quiet laugh, "Have you spoken to any of them?" Liara shook her head, knowing the look she was going to get before Jules even made it, "I know you don't really like making friends," she started, "but we are going to be sharing a ship with some of them soon."

"You know me," she shrugged, "I'll probably be too wrapped up in my work for socialising," Jules smiled in a way that meant she wanted to press the issue but she didn't, instead leaning in to press a quick kiss to Liara's temple before standing.

"I'd better get back, Aria's looking for any excuse to claim I'm past it."

As she moved away towards the rest of the group, she proved her own point as a voice called out to her across the room.

"Gave up easily didn't you?" Aria was smirking as she sauntered lazily across the room. As she said it, she nodded at the asari who had finally defeated Jules.

Jules just shook her head, "There's no shame in losing to an asari commando who was fighting in wars before humanity even made it to the moon."

"For most people maybe," Aria shrugged, "you're the woman who's taken on reapers and won."

"True," Jules allowed, "I suppose I could always call up the Mother of All Thresher Maws and ask her to give me a hand again. Or rebuild the Normandy and arrange an orbital strike; that would probably have beaten her."

Liara smiled a little as Aria rolled her eyes and wandered away, "I don't remember you being such a defeatist," she called over her shoulder, "and I'm expecting to see a rematch, people are already taking bets."

As the day went on, Jules won another ten matches and lost three and after she, Aria and Grunt had tested everyone, they started pitting the fighters against each other instead. A lot of the younger ones wanted Jules' advice and she spent most of the afternoon with them eagerly huddled around her, hearing her tips, tactics and stories – many of them probably unrelated to fighting.

Jules made a good show of resenting her fame but in this case Liara could tell she was enjoying the attention. Within the Alliance she had been a role model and on both Normandys Liara had seen her taking people under her wing like this, building their confidence and boosting their skills but going about it so subtly they often didn't realise she was doing it.

She had done it with Liara too, during the first few months they had known each other she had brought out sides of her that she herself hadn't discovered in a hundred years. It was part of what had made Jules such a natural leader, that ability to see something in someone and nurture it. It had been so long since she had seen this side of Jules that Liara had almost forgotten it existed.

"She looks more like her old self, doesn't she?" Grunt said at one point as he walked over to join her. He was watching Jules as she was explaining something that involved a lot of hand gestures and had her audience enraptured.

"She'll never be her old self again," Liara said softly, "but at least she looks happy."

…

Over the next few weeks, there were many days like that first one. Some days they fought one-on-one again, other times they split into teams and competed against each other or spent time teaching each other their own skills.

Liara's wounds healed and she was able to join in and soon a dynamic was forming within the group. Aria, Grunt and Jules were already singling out their favourites; Aria had taken particular interest in Colt, the biotic turian, and although he barely said a word the others soon learned he was a formidable opponent.

Grunt, Barbet and Jonan – the other turian – were the only non-biotics there and they were often found training together, trading and developing techniques to combat biotic opponents. Among the asari, there was a good mix of personalities and skills.

Three of them were matriarchs and all were formidable in their own ways. Maia – the one who had beaten Jules – was the picture of calm and elegance who took her time with everything, even during her fights. There was such an air of tranquillity about her that it was almost relaxing being defeated by her.

In contrast, Isla was stern and fierce and so intimidating that even Jules gave her a wide birth while Erecleia was bubbly and cheerful in a way that made everyone feel comfortable around her. She seemed to fit better with the younger asari and was often found in a huddle of them, usually catching up on the gossip and frequently attempting to match-make people.

The one thing all three of them shared was a frightening amount of skill and experience and the whole group was coming to benefit from it.

Of the others, Kyla was the most outspoken, often to the point where she offended people but she was fun-loving and playful and always seemed to get away with it. Rhea was a hothead but her heart was in the right place, Shaelen was grim and moody in a way that was actually endearing and Lesha was quiet but popular due to the fact that when she did speak it was usually to make a joke or observation that immediately had everyone in stitches.

Egret and the others were all much younger, too young to have been around during the war and they were always eager to hear stories from those who had lived through it. Friendships began to form, as did rivalries and Jules soon realised that picking out a single team was going to be difficult.

Strangely, Tevos barely showed her face at their training sessions and when she was there she would only linger in the far corner for a while and then slip away again before anyone could talk to her. How she was expecting to be able to pick her own squad when she hadn't worked with them Jules couldn't imagine, although knowing Tevos she probably wasn't planning on actually going on any of the ground missions herself.

Alongside the training sessions, Jules went running daily to try and get her fitness levels back up. She could have done this indoors on a treadmill but she preferred getting outside and seeing the city, even if it did mean she had to ignore the many reporters and curious members of the public who insisted on watching her, sometimes shouting questions, complements or insults as she went by. More than once she had come up against groups of the conspiracy theorists who would scream about how she should be ashamed of the lies she was telling about the war.

The first time she had gone out running, she came back barely able to stand upright and so out of breath she could hardly speak. Of course it also had to be the morning when Aria was taking a stroll through the reception area at the exact moment that Jules burst through the doors, instantly doubled over and began gasping in air so desperately that she drew looks of alarm from the receptionists.

"Well, well," she heard the asari's cocky voice before she looked up to see Aria smirking at her, "look at you, I didn't know humans could go such a bright shade of red."

"Very funny," Jules gasped before staggering over to lean against the reception desk, gulping in lungfuls of oxygen. Sweat itched between her skin and her clothes, making every movement uncomfortable and she already longed to feel the fresher, cooler air from outside again.

"Jules," Liara, who had been waiting for her, wandered up beside them, looking suspiciously at Aria for a moment, "are you alright?"

"Never better," Jules agreed with a dismissive wave of her hand, "nothing like an early morning run to get you ready for the day."
"And how far did you go?" asked Aria, clearly amused.

"Oh, you know," Jules shrugged, she kept her eyes fixed on the ceiling as she tried to steady her breathing, "only about twenty k, thought I'd start off light."

There wasn't a hope in hell that Aria would believe her but obviously lying was actually less embarrassing than admitting the truth.

As Aria chuckled and sauntered away, Liara moved closer, "And how far did you really go?" she asked quietly.

"Five k," Jules whimpered, holding up five digits on one hand to reiterate just in case her voice gave out on her, "seriously, Liara," she hooked an arm around Liara's neck and leaned heavily against her as they staggered towards the elevators, "never let me get this out of shape again. It's embarrassing."

The embarrassment didn't last long, however. As weeks turned into months, five kilometres turned into twenty and training sessions became more intense and yet less exhausting. Four months in, the kids who had been running Jules ragged were now struggling to keep up with her and the odds that Aria was offering against her had shifted dramatically.

…

"It's the implants, right?" Kyla demanded from no one in particular one afternoon as she staggered into the locker room after two exhausting hours of training with Shepard and some of the others, breathless and aching, "I swear, no normal person can get back in shape that quickly. It was only four months ago she was walking around looking like a half-starved zombie!"

It was only after that comment – as she collapsed down onto one of the benches – that she noticed one of the three people in the room was Liara, who was calmly closing her locker before turning to face her, an expectant look on her face. Kyla grimaced.

"Er… sorry babe, no offence to your missus."

"None taken," Liara replied, a small hint of a smile twitched at the corner of her mouth, making Kyla think she was going to get an actual reaction out of her for once. But then she broadened her shoulders, placed her hands behind her back and walked out of the door without another word. Kyla watched her go and shook her head.

"Stuck up bitch."

"Kyla!" she looked back to see Egret staring at her incredulously, behind her Maia was carefully folding away several items of clothing and appeared not to be listening but a subtle smile on her lips told Kyla otherwise. Then again Maia always seemed to be smiling smugly, like she knew something no one else did. Matriarchs were like that.

Kyla ignored her and instead gave Egret a shrug.

"What?"

Egret's exasperated frown suggested she hadn't thought she would have to explain herself, which amused Kyla a little as she watched her trying to come up with a suitable response, "She's Liara T'Soni!" she eventually exclaimed, gesturing wildly to the door Liara had left through.

"Yeah," Kyla agreed, "you'd think being a famous hero would give her a reason to smile now and then, the miserable…" she trailed off as she saw Egret's face harden, "woman," she finished, with a roll of her eyes.

One of things she'd learned over these past few months was that Egret was one of the easiest people to wind up, which also meant she was one of Kyla's favourite people as cheap entertainment was never far away when she was in the room.

The one thing that was annoying about the kid though was this stupid hero worship she seemed to have towards her precious Liara. A lot of the other youngsters felt the same, Liara was a legend and all that, but even the older asari seemed to have a kind of respect for her that Kyla just couldn't understand.

Oh she had tried to be nice, attempted to strike up a conversation more than once but the most she had ever managed to get from Liara in return was a slightly superior smile and a few curt words before she calmly excused herself. Evidently she was too good to talk to a lowly grunt like Kyla.

She didn't know what else she had expected from Matriarch Benezia's daughter. A privileged upbringing and an expensive education were always going to breed a snob.

"I wonder what Shepard would do if she heard you talking about Liara like that," Egret challenged, folding her arms in a way she probably thought was threatening – in reality it just made Kyla snort to supress a laugh.

"Hey, Shep knows how to have a laugh. She's more fun than I thought she'd be actually, makes me wonder why she's stayed with that hard-faced misery for so long. I suppose the sex must be good."

"Oh you are unbelievable," Egret turned away in disgust, though not quickly enough to hide the blush that had rushed to her cheeks, making Kyla chuckle. Egret was so easily flustered.

"If you actually took the time to talk to Liara, you'd find she's quite interesting," Maia spoke up gently, without looking up from her locker. Kyla threw her a sceptical look.

"How the hell am I meant to do that? She never says more than two words to me."

"Then perhaps you should take a more delicate approach with her," the matriarch suggested, "I could say the same for your fighting style."

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

That smug smile danced across her lips again, making Kyla scowl, "The reason Shepard's training sessions are wearing you out so easily is because you rush through every move you make. If you took the time to consider and strategize when you're fighting you would be able to conserve more energy."

Kyla sighed loudly, "If we all took our time as much as you, babe, no one would ever get anything done!" she snapped, eyeing the clothes Maia had been folding for the past ten minutes – and still wasn't finished with, "I may not be as ancient as you, but I've been around long enough to know what works for me. So as much as I appreciate the advice, don't waste your breath."

Maia smiled and nodded, "As you wish," with that, she took her neatly folded clothes, gave Egret a nod and left. It was a moment later that Kyla noticed Egret was staring at her with a strange mixture of suspicion and awe.

"What?" Kyla shrugged.

"How can you get away with talking to people like that?" she asked, shaking her head slightly. It took a moment before Kyla realised it had been a serious question.

She felt a brief wave of sympathy for the kid as she remembered what it was like to be that young and still unsure of yourself. Here she was surrounded by matriarchs and legends who she thought she had to live up to. She hadn't realised yet that they were all just as fickle and flawed as she was.

"Look," she said, leaning forwards, "just because she's a thousand years old, it does not mean she has all the answers."

"Doesn't mean you have to be rude to her, either."

Kyla hid a grin as she stood, moved to her locker and started stripping out of her training kit, "Being rude to people is the best way to get an honest reaction from them. Being polite usually means you're lying, hiding your true feelings. Being polite is what you do to strangers, and people you don't like but can't be bothered arguing with. You can't get to know someone – really get to know them – by being polite."

"You could just try being nice," Egret suggested.

"I prefer being honest," Kyla said, she dragged her sweat-soaked top off over her head and let the coolness of the air touch her skin for a moment before she grabbed a clean one and pulled it on, "besides, after a few hundred years, nice gets boring."

Egret shrugged casually, "Maia's nice."

"Ha!" Kyla exclaimed, grabbing a jacket from the locker, "Maia must be over a thousand years old! After living that long matriarchs forget how to be interesting."

Egret made a noise and Kyla looked up to see she looked amused, "What are you smirking at?"

"Nothing," she shook her head, "just trying to imagine you when you're her age. Do you think you'll be nice and boring?"

Kyla paused for a moment – one arm hooked inside the sleeve of her jacket – and looked at Egret thoughtfully. Then she snapped out of it and pulled the jacket on fully, flicking the collar up around her neck, "Nah, I'll never live to be that ancient. If you make it past a millennium without dying of alcohol poisoning or in some stupid accident then you haven't been living properly. Maybe that's why all matriarchs are so dull, they're the ones who've never done anything exciting enough to get them killed."

"Hoping to go out in a blaze of glory, are you?"

"To be honest, I always thought I'd get stabbed in a bar brawl or something," she admitted grimly, then she shut her locker and sighed, "provided one of Shepard's training sessions doesn't finish me off first."

Sorry I made you wait so long for this one but I wrote and scrapped four different versions of it before I found one that worked. The next chapter is more or less finished though so it should be up in a day or two.